This Week in Internet Marketing 2012 04 03

Another exciting week on internet marketing news is upon us! Here are your top 5 headlines for the week: Facebook may be quietly creating its own search engine; improving your online visibility through content; Google’s Panda Algorithm update; and gaining insight into your own Google Account activity.

This Week in Internet Marketing 2012 04 03

This article from Businessweek hints at Facebook’s foray into search engine marketing. Where Google seems to be heading in the opposite direction i.e. making its search more socially influenced, Facebook wants to capitalize on the purchase intent-based mindset of searchers. Facebook wants people to be able to search for things like local businesses with the most likes, recommendations and engagement. In essence, you’d be searching social content within Facebook’s ecosystem, unlike Google where you search the entire web.

Most of you have heard the term “content is king,” and last month we published our own blog on creating website content that’s not a blog. This article outlines some additional tips for content ideas that include: surveys, performing original research, online press releases, resource guides, transcriptions of speeches and slideshows. Check out the article for more great tips on creating your own unique content.

An official Tweet from Google confirmed the release of the latest iteration to their Panda algorithm update. The update is said to affect approximately 1.6% of searches. The “update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites.”

Google knows a lot about us; isn’t it time that we began to know just as much? Last week Google announced a new Account Activity Report it’s making freely available to each Google Account user. The new report can tell you things like you “sent 5 percent more email than the previous month and received 3 percent more.” It can also tell you how much you’ve searched month over month.

Social media branding firm BRANDfog conducted a study on CEOs and CMOs who engage positively on social media platforms. From the article: “The majority of survey respondents, 78%, said CEO participation in social media leads to better communication, while 71% said it leads to improved brand image and 64% said it provides more transparency.” Check out this article for some great examples of CEOs who tweet.